Wednesday, October 23, 2013

October 23, 2013 (CHICAGO) -- Mayors of some of Illinois' biggest municipalities called on the state's congressional delegation Wednesday to overhaul immigration laws as a way to repair and boost the economy.

The 21 leaders- mostly Democratic-leaning mayors and presidents around Chicago and central Illinois - signed a letter which says new laws focusing on all immigrants, regardless of citizenship status, will create jobs and raise revenues. There are an estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
"Illinois is facing tough economic times," the letter says. "We cannot hope to achieve the growth necessary to repair the damage done by the recession without bringing eleven million people out of the shadows and fully integrated into our economy. "
The effort was led by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and FWD.us, an advocacy organization started by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Emanuel has vowed to make Chicago the most immigrant friendly city in the world. The state already has some of the nation's most immigrant-friendly laws and a few of its top leaders are involved in reform, including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez.
Still, Illinois has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and is facing other financial issues that could be helped by reform, according to the letter. The mayors said the timing is right in the wake of the end of the partial federal government shutdown.
The mayors aren't pushing for a particular bill. Legislation with amped up border security has passed the Senate but it is unclear if any overhaul will come for a vote in the GOP-led House. SOURCE: Some Illinois mayors want immigration reform

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boise reported that two Romanian nationals and former Blaine County residents face deportation following sentencing Monday in federal court for obtaining immigration benefits as a result of marriage fraud.
In a newss release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office identified the defendants, who were most recently living in Boise, as Victor Raul Fenesan, 32, and Claudia Luminita Beian, 34. Fenesan was convicted of obtaining a U.S. visa by fraud and Beian was convicted of unlawful procurement of U.S. citizenship.
The couple was living in Blaine County when the crimes occurred.
They were charged with the crimes in September 2012 and pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 12.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported that both defendants were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge to two years’ probation and fined $2,000. Lodge also ordered that Beian’s U.S. citizenship be revoked. Both are subject to deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported that both Fenesan and Beian admitted in plea agreements to marrying U.S. citizens for the “sole purpose of obtaining immigration benefits.”

An Arab-American community activist from the Chicago suburbs was arrested Tuesday on immigration charges for allegedly lying about her conviction for a deadly bombing more than 40 years ago in Israel.

Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, 66, spent a decade in an Israeli prison for her involvement in a 1969 attack that involved bombs planted at a crowded Jerusalem supermarket and a British consulate, according to a federal indictment. Only one bomb _ one of two placed at the supermarket _ exploded, killing the two people and wounding several others. Israeli authorities have said the attacks were planned by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

MIAMI - Four Haitians who were among a group of Caribbean nationals found clinging to the hull of their capsized boat off the coast of Miami have been released from federal custody.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had detained the survivors as part of an investigation into the accident that killed four women in the early hours of Oct. 17 seven miles (11 kilometres) east of Miami.
The four Haitians from that "failed smuggling venture have been processed and are no longer in ICE custody," U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Nestor Yglesias said late Tuesday.
Haitian Women of Miami's executive director, Marleine Bastien, said Wednesday that she was elated that the Haitians had been released. She was joined Monday by Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat, whose elderly uncle died in U.S. custody after fleeing violence in Haiti in 2004, and other community leaders in calling for the survivors' release and criticizing U.S. immigration policies that usually permit Cubans who reach U.S. shores to be quickly processed and released to their families, while Haitians and migrants from other countries typically are detained.Source: 4 Haitian survivors of failed smuggling operation released from US immigration custody

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